Narasimha (2001 film)

Narasimha (Tamil: நரசிம்மா) is a 2001 Tamil action-masala film directed by Thirupathisamy, which features Vijayakanth in the lead role. The film features an ensemble supporting cast including Isha Koppikar, Raghuvaran, Nassar and Sharat Saxena, while the soundtrack for the film was composed by Mani Sharma. The film released in July 2001 to mixed reviews.^[1]

Cast

Production

The film was initially supposed to be directed by N. Maharajan of Vallarasu fame but due to a lack of dates, Vijayakanth had to opt for another director with Thirupathisamy, who directed the Telugu blockbuster Azad, being selected.^[2] Due to the success of his previous two films and his work in Narasimha, the director was signed up to direct Velan with Vijay and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles.^[3] However the director died before the release of the film after being a part of a car crash while returning home from an editing session - the producers of Narasimha later dedicated the film to him.^[4]

The film marked the debut of cinematographer Boopathy, who has since been a regular in Vijayakanth films.^[5] Lyrciist Pa. Vijay wrote his 100th song for the film.^[6]

Release

The film won positive review from The Hindu newspaper, which praises the attempt claiming the "film has beautiful songs and dance, a touch of comedy, attractive costumes and above all a message which says that the country matters more than anything else". In regard to performances, the critic claims that Isha is "beautiful", Rahul Dev "impresses" and that Vijayakanth "has used his histrionic ability to do justice to the character".^[7] However the critic from Rediff called the film a "commercial confection" and concluded that the director "doesn't manage to put all the ingredients together in the right proportion."^[8] The film also dubbed and released in Telugu as Salute.^[9] The Indian Express concluded "the film, despite it’s dramatics and slick presentation, lacks a clear, solid screenplay, and among the numerous characters, not one is clearly etched."^[10]

Narasimha fared poorly at the box office and in 2006, producer L. K. Sudhish his brother-in-law, were engaged in a legal battle to compensate distributors due to the film's losses.^[11][12]

References